TALCHIRS. 



13 



rest always on the Metamorphics. Their most westerly exposure is 

 in the neighbourhood of Kathai, and they run in a north-easterly 

 direction through Lora to Achala and Majgama and then turn south- 

 ward towards Bareri. Here they are overlapped by higher rocks, but 

 they reappear in the vicinity of Maiohi Chandwar and Paunia. Their 

 fullest developement is in the district of Sohagpur, and they extend 

 thence far to the south and east, connecting the Rewah area with the 

 Talchirs of the Mahanadi basin. 



The identification of this group is perfectly easy, as it exhibits 

 with two local exceptions the same lithological features that charac- 

 terise it elsewhere. It seems gainsaying my own statement to assert 

 that at one time I questioned the occurrence of 

 Talchirs at Lora. The point had heen passed on 

 to me to decide, and at first I was inclined to think that the Talchirs 

 were absent. This was a misapprehension, but it was due entirely to the 

 fact that there were no sections open enough to decide a question that was 

 already surrounded by controversial assertion. Had I wandered away 

 either to the north as far as Lagwari, or to the south as far as Kathai, 

 I should have met with Talchirs in unmistakeable garb. It so happened, 

 however, that it was not until two years after my first visit that 

 I undertook the thorough examination of that part of the country, and 

 arrived at the true knowledge of its structure. At the commencement 

 of each season's tour, the tendency was always to press forward, and thus 

 the places near at hand were passed over. 



The recognition of Talchirs at a given spot usually gives encourage- 

 ment to the hope that we are within discoverable distance of the true 

 Talchirs usually favour- coa ^ measures, for we know as a fact that the 

 able indication of coal. Talchirs underlie the coal-bearing rocks. The 

 application of this knowledge made me question the supposed geological 

 horizon of the Umaria coal ; and it has strengthened the expectations of 

 meeting with coal where there is no actual exposure of it. 1 In tracing 

 the outlines of the Talchirs a great deal of time was spent in the mere 



1 The application of this same knowledge in the Satpura basin did not meet with 

 success, though it may still be said that the borings there were not carried deep enough, 

 See Records, Vol. XI, p. 8 ; and Vol. XII, p. 97— H. IS. M. 



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